The death of Diana, Princess of Wales, was not an accident, reveals lawyer Michael Mansfield in his new book. Mansfield had represented Egyptian businessman Mohamed Fayed at the inquest into the crash.
Fayed's oldest son, Dodi, who was said to have a close relationship with Diana, had also lost his life in the 1997 accident in the Alma Tunnel in Paris. Mansfield insisted the inquest had not been a waste of time.
"I found it difficult simply to accept that what happened in the Alma Tunnel in Paris was 'just one of those tragic things'. Of course it might have been, but then that's what "they" always hope we will think," the Telegraph quoted him as saying. "Judging whether a hidden hand is at work is always difficult, but I prefer a healthy and inquisitive assessment of the authorised version, and for me it was mere serendipity to be approached a year after the crash and asked to represent Mohamed Al Fayed for the purposes of an inquest," he added.
He also said: "There is still a widespread belief that the inquest was a waste of time and money and came to no different conclusion than previous investigations and inquiries. This is a serious misconception. "On April 7, 2008, the jury did not decide it was just a tragic accident but returned a verdict of unlawful killing by the drivers of both the Mercedes and the following vehicles. The 'following vehicles' element in the verdict was an aspect that very few commentators picked up on, or bothered with." The book, called 'Memoirs of a Radical Lawyer', which has been serialized on The Times, also talks about other issues that were set out in the trial but were not "resolved by evidence, or reflected in the verdict".
These included the box of missing personal papers belonging to Diana, the missing driver of the white Fiat, the three hours on the evening of August 30, 1997, during which the movements of Dodi's chauffeur Henri Paul could not be established and the unexplained regular and sizeable sums of money going into Henri Paul's several bank accounts over the three months before the crash.